Iran Hits Three More Tankers, U.S. Says It Sunk IRIS Shahid Bagheri Drone Carrier (Videos, Photos)

File image.

The naval war in the Persian Gulf intensified on March 2 with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announcing an attack on a tanker that attempted to transit the Strait of Hormuz “illegally.”

In a statement, the guards said that the Athena Nova — a Honduras-flagged asphalt tanker —, belonging to allies of the United States, was targeted with two drones close to the strategic waterway. It added that a fire broke out on the tanker after the attack.

The Strait of Hormuz is the world’s most vital oil export route, which connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.

Iran began targeting tankers close to the strategic waterway a day after the U.S. and Israel began their attack on February 28.

Three vessels were hit on the first day of attacks, including the Marshall Islands-flagged product tanker MKD VYOM. Oman’s Maritime Security Center said on March 2 that the tanker “was attacked by a remotely operated boat” around 52 nautical miles off the coast of Muscat Governorate.

“In coordination with the Maritime Security Center, the tanker’s crew of 21 people—including 16 Indians, 4 Bangladeshis, and 1 Ukrainian—was evacuated by the commercial vessel (MV SAND), flying the flag of Panama,” the center noted.

Projectiles also hit the U.S.-flagged products tanker Stena Imperative in the port of Bahrain early on March 2, according to Reuters. Two maritime sources told the news agency that a fire broke out as a result of the attack, and was later extinguished.

The recent attacks brought movements through the Strait of Hormuz to a near complete halt, with reports revealing that as many as 150 vessels including oil and liquefied natural gas tankers had dropped anchor in nearby waters.

The U.S., from its side, has also managed to deal several blows to Iranian naval forces. On March 2, the Central Command revealed that IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a container ship commissioned by the guard’s navy last year after conversion to a drone carrier, was struck in the opening strikes of the war.

“U.S. forces struck the ship within hours of launching Operation Epic Fury,” the command said in a brief statement.

Separately, satellite images released by Planet Labs revealed massive destruction at Bandar Abbas Naval Base in southern Iran, with several damaged vessels. One of the vessels was identified as IRIS Makran, a tanker turned into a forward base ship by the Iranian Navy. The vessel was commissioned five years ago.

Click to see full-size image.

Click to see full-size image.

U.S. President Donlad Trump set the destruction of Iranian naval forces as one of the key goals of the war, and on March 1 he claimed that nine warships had been sunken. In a statement released the next day, CENTCOM said that 11 warships were hit. The command also released footage showing one of the strikes.

The naval confrontation will likely heat up in the coming days. Both sides will take more losses. The Strait of Hormuz will likely remain closed for the entirety of the war, unless the two sides reach some maritime agreement. Such a development wont be surprising as Iran itself exports through the waterway.

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